Landslides, flooding kill 29 in Vietnam

Hanoi: Officials say landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains have killed 29 people and left four missing in northern and central Vietnam.

Disaster official Ngo Van Hung of northern Yen Bai province on Sunday said that 16 villagers from the mostly poor Hmong ethnic minority group died in a landslide while they were illegally collecting tin ore from a mine operated by a private company.

Authorities are searching for two other people missing from Friday`s incident, he added.

The government disaster agency says flooding killed another 13 people and left two missing in central Vietnam over the past week.

The agency says on its website that flooding caused by heavy rains has caused an estimated USD 22 million in damage to rice crops and infrastructure.